Free LP : "Uniforms of Snow"

Since the original release on label Bitkins isn't available any longer, I'm re-releasing this free instrumental album.

Download

Or find it on Archive

"Uniforms of Snow" started out around 2007 as a tribute to early electronic music, using retro drum machines and analogue synth sounds. It gradually evolved into a full instrumental album inspired by HP Lovecraft's 1931 novel "At the mountains of madness", about a scientific expedition to Antarctica that uncovers the remains of a strange ancient culture. Now what if the novel had been put into movie around 1975, with John Carpenter providing the soundtrack? This is how it could have turned out... an all-instrumental, vintage-sounding album, with plenty of primitive beatboxes and Moog sounds, and musical inspiration ranging from Brian Eno's 70's ambient textures to Kraftwerk's synth-pop grooves.

Gear : lots of Microkorg from the early version, and Moog Little Phatty, Gforce Virtual String Machine added on the final version.

Bring Back the Snow

As I mentioned some months ago, label Bitkins which has released my instrumental albums "Uniforms of Snow" and "Upon a Sleepless River" is now so totally dead.

I've re-released "Upon a Sleepless River" here.

Today, I'll go back to the "Uniforms of Snow" album, maybe do a new mastering session, and re-release it as well. It's a 1975-era electronic album, in the vein of John Carpenter's early soundtracks.

Yup, It's Dead

Looks like netlabel Bitkins is dead indeed and its creator is out of reach.
So, I'll be releasing again here my instrumental albums, "Upon a Sleepless River" and "Uniforms of Snow", in a remastered version.

Unearthing Oldies : a Microkorg demo

This is a sketch from the "Uniforms of Snow" album's early recording.

I did this on vacation back in, er, winter 2006 or something, with a laptop and the oh-so-portable Microkorg, and later on the beat and melody were recycled into "Kadath Onward", as featured on the final album.

Mollusk (Kadath Onward demo)

New free album : "Uniforms of Snow"

That's right, it's out there!

Download it at http://bitkins.com/releases/btkn007

You'll also soon be able to purchase a jewel CDR version from that site.

About the album itself, check out the release info or see the post below, I'll concentrate here on the instruments, since this blog is a lot about them...

"Uniforms of Snow" was mostly composed and recorded on the Microkorg.

I actually started to record it when I first got the Microkorg, and it's all over the place... for instance, you can hear its arpegiator on the intro to "Elder Things", and the middle part of "At Last, Leaving" is also all Microkorg lead lines.

Later on, when I purchased the Moog Little Phatty, I tried to deepen the overall sound with some analogue basses and leads (for a good example, the little counterpoint thing on the second half of "Albino I").

I used the Gforce M-tron, most notably on "Elder Things" and the female choir on "Song of Ghosts".

Then I bought the Gforce Virtual String Machine plugin, and replaced some of the early freeware string machines pads with better Solina, Eminent and the lot...

The final addition was the coda to "Kadath Onward", when the theme is reprised... that's an all Roland Juno-1 arrangement.

So in the end, it's a "setup in progress" album, and I considered for a moment re-recording it with my current studio, but decided against it, as it was too much trouble and would have altered the sound too much.

It's a very Microkorgey album... the little beast from Korg is responsible for most of the little thin retro sounds, that work quite good with the more solid Moog basses and the ambient strings of the Virtual String Machine.

Upcoming : "Uniforms of Snow" - instrumental LP

This is a project that's been sleeping in my drawer for some time now, and I'm dusting it off in order for the good people at bitkins.com to release it.

"Uniforms of Snow" is an all-instrumental album, inspired by HP Lovecraft's novel "At the mountains of madness" (which with luck should be made into movie by director Guillermo del Toro).

It's a musical hommage to 1970's electronic music, with primitive drum machines and totally vintage sounds. I tried to imagine what the soundtrack would sound like if the novel was adapted for film in 1975 with John Carpenter in charge.

So expect no Aphex Snares "high-end" mumbojumbo : it's gonna sound totally vintage and retro!

Since it's an old project already, the setup reflects a transitional time in my studio, and if memory serves me correctly, the synths used are mostly Moog Little Phatty, Microkorg, Gforce Virtual String Machine (and Roland Juno-1 on a track).

I'm polishing the final mix these days, so stay tuned for a release announcement.